US House Rep Susan Davis' office issued the following:
Washington, July 17, 2019
Congresswoman Susan Davis, a senior member of the
House Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation to help
low-income military families living with food insecurity. The Military
Hunger Prevention Act, introduced with Rep. Don Young (R-AK), would
create a basic needs allowance to bridge the gap for eligible
servicemembers who are currently not eligible for Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
“We should be able to meet the basic needs of our military
families,” said Davis. “Military families go where they are ordered and
sometimes that means moving to areas with a higher cost of living. Add
to these situations where a spouse might have trouble finding new
employment and this becomes a recipe for food insecurity. Creating a
basic needs allowance is a simple solution to the critical issue of food
insecurity among some military families.”
“For over seven years, we have been calling attention to
food insecurity among military families, after learning that food
pantries operate on or near every military installation in the country,”
said Abby J. Leibman, President & CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response
to Hunger. “We are proud and enthused that a solution is within
sight—the Military Hunger Prevention Act would support military families
in an efficient manner to eliminate barriers to assistance we have seen
in the past including shame, stigma, lack of awareness, and fear of
retribution. We are so grateful to Representatives Davis and Young for
their leadership and partnership, and we urge all Members of Congress to
support this critically important legislation.”
In high cost of living areas like San Diego, some families
of junior enlisted servicemembers struggle to put food on the table.
Because of the way military pay is structured, military families who are
eligible in other areas are often ineligible for SNAP when stationed in
high cost of living areas like San Diego due to the inclusion of
housing allowance in the eligibility calculation. A basic needs
allowance will help alleviate this problem.
As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee,
Davis included the language from the Military Hunger Prevention Act in
this year’s House version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The
NDAA passed the House in July. The House and Senate will conference to
work out the differences between the House version and the Senate
version, which was approved by the Senate in June. The Military Hunger
Prevention Act was not in the Senate version of the NDAA.
